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Where do I find a closed adoption record?

Where do I find a closed adoption record?

All adoption records have a court record of the adoption and there also may be an agency record. There is no one central location of adoption records. The court record of adoption is usually located in the Family Division of Circuit Court (formerly the probate court) in the county where the adoptive parents lived at the time of the adoption. Once the court is found, the court would be able to provide you with the name of the agency if an agency were involved.

The adopted person may also contact the Department of Community Health to request the name of the court that finalized the adoption. Requests can be sent by mail to:

Michigan Department of Community Health
Division for Vital Records
PO Box 30721
Lansing, MI 48909

In that request, the adopted person must submit a completed and signed birth application and include their birth name if they know it, complete adoptive name, their date of birth, and their adoptive parents' names, along with a check or money order made payable to the State of Michigan for $34.00 and a copy of their current government issued photo ID. The fee is associated with the release of the amended birth certificate (the one issued in the adoptive name) along with the court information.  The applicant must specifically request “COURT INFO.”

For more information about Department of Community Health, including fees or ordering information and the link to download the birth application, check out their website: www.michigan.gov/vitalrecords.